mhs mom said:
what is Knoppix?
I think she has wireless network for internet and the computers, but
probably hasn't set up a network.
mhs mom:
Forget about Knoppix. At this point we'll try another approach...
First of all, it's really impossible to tell from your description the
precise nature of your sister's problem. The subject of your post is
"corrupt mbr". What makes you think the MBR has been "corrupted"?
Anyway, since the important thing at this point is for sis to retrieve those
important files from that non-bootable HD, that should be her first order of
business.
You say the drive boots "sometimes". Well, when it does can't she copy
whatever files she wants to a jump (flash, thumb, memory, etc.) drive or
burn them to a CD, or perhaps a USB external HD should that device be
available to her? Or if the drive can no longer boot, can she install that
drive as a secondary HD in another computer and hopefully access the
contents of that drive that way? You inferred that another computer is
available to her. Of course if we're dealing with a laptop/notebook that
complicates things a bit.
It's hard to tell from here exactly what sis was trying to do and the
problem she encountered when she was trying to boot from the XP installation
CD. Depending upon the specific type of CD she was using it may be possible
for her to undertake a Repair install of the operating system and bring her
system back to life. Do a Google search on "xp repair install". But as I've
indicated earlier, the important thing is that she copies whatever files she
wants *before* running a Repair install or tampering with the problem drive
in any way.
You also mentioned the possibility of a failing HD. Most manufacturers have
a diagnostic utility available for download to test their drives. So pursue
this as well.
Anna
